列王紀下14:1-22

 

14:1 以色列王約哈斯的兒子約阿施第二年，猶大王約阿施的兒子亞瑪謝登基。
14:2 他登基的時候年二十五歲，在耶路撒冷作王二十九年。他母親名叫約耶但，是耶路撒冷人。
14:3 亞瑪謝行耶和華眼中看為正的事，但不如他祖大衛，乃效法他父約阿施一切所行的；
14:4 只是邱壇還沒有廢去，百姓仍在那裡獻祭燒香。
14:5 國一堅定，就把殺他父王的臣僕殺了，
14:6 卻沒有治死殺王之人的兒子，是照摩西律法書上耶和華所吩咐的說：「不可因子殺父，也不可因父殺子，各人要為本身的罪而死。」
14:7 亞瑪謝在鹽谷殺了以東人一萬，又攻取了西拉，改名叫約帖，直到今日。
14:8 那時，亞瑪謝差遣使者去見耶戶的孫子約哈斯的兒子以色列王約阿施，說：「你來，我們二人相見於戰場。」
14:9 以色列王約阿施差遣使者去見猶大王亞瑪謝，說：「黎巴嫩的蒺藜差遣使者去見黎巴嫩的香柏樹，說：將你的女兒給我兒子為妻。後來黎巴嫩有一個野獸經過，把蒺藜踐踏了。
14:10 你打敗了以東人就心高氣傲，你以此為榮耀，在家裡安居就罷了，為何要惹禍，使自己和猶大國一同敗亡呢？」
14:11 亞瑪謝卻不肯聽這話。於是以色列王約阿施上來，在猶大的伯．示麥與猶大王亞瑪謝相見於戰場。
14:12 猶大人敗在以色列人面前，各自逃回家裡去了。
14:13 以色列王約阿施在伯．示麥擒住亞哈謝的孫子、約阿施的兒子猶大王亞瑪謝，就來到耶路撒冷，拆毀耶路撒冷的城牆，從以法蓮門直到角門共四百肘，
14:14 又將耶和華殿裡與王宮府庫裡所有的金銀和器皿都拿了去，並帶人去為質，就回撒馬利亞去了。
14:15 約阿施其餘所行的事和他的勇力，並與猶大王亞瑪謝爭戰的事，都寫在以色列諸王記上。
14:16 約阿施與他列祖同睡，葬在撒馬利亞，以色列諸王的墳地裡。他兒子耶羅波安接續他作王。
14:17 以色列王約哈斯的兒子約阿施死後，猶大王約阿施的兒子亞瑪謝又活了十五年。
14:18 亞瑪謝其餘的事都寫在猶大列王記上。
14:19 耶路撒冷有人背叛亞瑪謝，他就逃到拉吉；叛黨卻打發人到拉吉將他殺了。
14:20 人就用馬將他的屍首馱到耶路撒冷，葬在大衛城他列祖的墳地裡。
14:21 猶大眾民立亞瑪謝的兒子亞撒利雅（又名烏西雅）接續他父作王，那時他年十六歲。
14:22 亞瑪謝與他列祖同睡之後，亞撒利雅收回以拉他仍歸猶大，又重新修理。

 

In the second year of Jehoash^[a] son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. ³ He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. ⁴ The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁵ After the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. ⁶ Yet he did not put the children of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses where the Lord commanded: “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”^[b]

⁷ He was the one who defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and captured Sela in battle, calling it Joktheel, the name it has to this day.

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, with the challenge: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”

⁹ But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. ¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom and now you are arrogant. Glory in your victory, but stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”

¹¹ Amaziah, however, would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah. ¹² Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home. ¹³ Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about four hundred cubits long.^{[c] 14} He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace. He also took hostages and returned to Samaria.

¹⁵ As for the other events of the reign of Jehoash, what he did and his achievements, including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶ Jehoash rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam his son succeeded him as king.

¹⁷ Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ¹⁸ As for the other events of Amaziah’s reign, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

¹⁹ They conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁰ He was brought back by horse and was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors, in the City of David.

²¹ Then all the people of Judah took Azariah,^[d] who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²² He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors.

 

***********

 

    雖然記載的是以色列王和猶太王的事蹟，似乎沒有關於信仰的事情，卻是讓我們看見王的作為不是個人的事情，而是整個國家的事情，也讓我們感受到領袖之影響力。